Mmmmm...ground chicken!

So...to report on days 4&5...last night we ended up going out for supper. I thought I could get a yummy chicken & veggie platter at a vietnamese restaurant in the mall (west ed). We'd been to Hoang Long once before it was renovated a month or so ago, and I remembered it as being ok. So off we went...to a dining experience of pure disappointment. :( They didn't have what I wanted, and screwed up scott's order so he asked for it to be fixed (they brought nuts on his, when he asked for no nuts). They took it back and never bothered to being him a replacement. We won't be going there again, needless to say. Service was sub-par and good was not worth the price. My meal was half lukewarm. Boo. Anyways...because they didn't have any veggie/chicken options, I settled for a vermicelli bowl and gave Annika half of my noodles. So I ended up cheating on my diet, and it wasn't even worth it - what a drag! This morning I was still down another .2 lbs (whew, what a relief!)
Today was a pretty good day. Had scrambled eggs for brekkie, yogurt and berries for a snack (while watching the wonderful royal wedding...more on that in a bit)! Lunch was out with Aunty Heather at boston pizza...i had their Chopped Chicken Salad and it was good, and healthy. This afternoon I made a delicious supper! It was a herbed chicken loaf with ground chicken, sauteed veggies, greek seasoning, egg, miracle whip, and some fine bread crumbs. I baked it in a loaf pan for an hour and ten mins. Also cooked up a yummy pan of roasted veggies as a side. I sliced up the loaf and for scott, put his serving in a pita with tomatoes, cucumbers and tzatziki. It's almost like a healthy version of a donair, and if you want to check out the recipe and try it for yourself, you can check out the recipe, Ground Chicken Loaf, at The Cookbook Junkie's blog.  Mmmm. Mine was sans pita, and it was scrumptious. Then for dessert...me nothing, and scott had some of the banana bread I made plus some ice cream. We'll see how the weekend eats go...I'll keep you posted.
Now, how about that wedding?! Anybody tune in? I woke up at 630 before any alarm, excited to watch it. (Yeah, I know it started at 4...i love my pvr!) I have to say, Kate was absolutely stunning, don't you agree? Her dress was not what I was expecting...i pictured a slightly sleeker dress, but her gown totally grew on me. I think it was perfect. Perfect for the fairytale princess and the fairytale wedding!! I loved it. I'm sure that the wedding will be one of (if not THE) most watched televised programs ever. I really think the mutual love and respect the couple has for each other was evident during their exchange of vows, in the carriage ride, and certainly on the balcony when they shared a kiss (or two!!) It's nice to see such beautiful celebration...what a refreshing change to the usual sad news on tv. I'm glad I watched it...did any of you?

Happy Friday all!
Penny

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Days 2 and 3

Ok, 3 days down and i'm still here! ;) I'm not feeling too bad so far, not feeling like I'm starving all the time, although I must admit I'm feeling pretty tired. I think that's for a totally different reason though (forgot to take my synthroid for the last half hear...it's catching up with me!)

Yesterday's menu:
Breakfast - Yogurt & berries
Snack - apple
Lunch - lemon pepper tuna & mixed salad with veggies
Supper - Grilled salmon, grilled veggies, leftover "mashed taters"

Today's:

Breakfast - Yogurt & berries 

Snack - orange

Lunch - leftover Grilled salmon & mixed salad with veggies

Supper - Grilled chicken (boy I love our BBQ!), lots sauteed veggies, 1/2 cup of soy milk

Tomorrow's Menu:

Breakfast - Yogurt & berries 

Snack - grapefruit

Lunch - leftover Grilled chicken & veggies

Supper - TBD (I'm thinking something with ground chicken/turkey. We'll see what I can whip up!)

So, end of day 3 and I'm down 3.6 lbs. WOW! :) Who knows what the scale will say next week, but I'm hoping I don't blow it...we'll see what happens!

One more day of work for me...yay!
Penny

Day 1

Hello all...
Hope you had a fantastic Easter weekend. Annika's dayhome is closed today, so I'm at home with her...lucky me!! :) We went grocery shopping this morning and now I'm having a little bit of quiet time while Annika has a little snooze. I think I'll dive into my book next...I love reading. I don't know about you, but I enjoy weekly trips to the library where A and I pick through the piles of books and find some new reading treasures to bring home for a week or two. She has her own little library card now, and she loves going to the library and visiting the fish and checking out books. It's certainly a more cost effective way to read all your favourite books!

Well, today is Day 1 of my diet. We'll see how this goes. So far, I'm not starving, which is a good thing considering I'm only half a day into it! I want to lose between 20-30 lbs. It's doable, I think! Anyways, here's what I've had so far and I'll plan out the rest of my meals too.
Breakfast - scrambled eggs (2) and tomatoes and a glass of water
Snack - 1 apple
Lunch - tuna (lemon & dill), celery, cucumbers and brussel sprouts, green tea
Snack - strawberries
Supper - Balsamic Mustard Chicken & Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes"
Dessert - chocolate yogurt

So that's the meal for today. I'm also taking advantage of being home today and planning what I'll take for lunch tomorrow to work. Easier to have it all planned out instead of rushing around like crazy!

I'll try to check in tomorrow too...it'll keep me honest!
Penny

Thank goodness for long weekends

Technically, I guess I have a long weekend every week since I only work Monday - Thursday, but I still like long weekends. It means my little family is home together and we can do what we like with the day. I need that. It was a challenging week. Lots of issues and headaches. So I'm not sad to say goodbye to this week and look forward to resting and relaxing. And of course I'll try to get some housework done too! 

My dad is on his way to Costa Rica this evening, so he was over tonight for supper and brought his dog, Pepper over. She's going to have a week long sleepover here...and the poor thing has a really tough time walking around on hardwood (which we have all over our main floor). So we now have area rugs and mats strewn about our hallways so that she can make it from the family room to the kitchen for food and to the door to get outside. LOL. It looks pretty funny! Thank goodness it's temporary. 

I haven't done our taxes yet. Oops! I've started them, but haven't finished yet...so it's on my list of things to do this weekend. I'll see if I can finish them up and submit them and hopefully we'll get a little bit back sometime soon! 

Have a good one...

Penny

Check Up Time

It's check-up time for me. Not just the doctor kind of check-up, although that's on the list of things to do (needles and poking and prodding are on the way for me). I want to take the time to look at my one reflective, somewhat-insightful post and see how far I've come. Have I made any progress? Checked any things off my list of things? If you don't remember, my post in January was contemplative...I was questioning my career choice and trying to figure out what I wanna be when I grow up! (Tongue was definitely in cheek when I wrote that).

So, here goes:
A) Well, it's an ongoing mission, isn't it? To be one's best. To be THE best mom and wife. So...I`ll be honest. I need to work on a bunch of things. I want to be more patient. I want to give the benefit of the doubt. I need to cook healthier meals on a more regular basis...meal planning isn't my favourite thing to do!! :)

B)  I am happy to report that I've made great progress in the crafting section! Quilting/sewing equipment is out and being used on a regular basis...with great friends, to boot! My sewing group may meet somewhat irregularly, but hey, we have fun when we do get together! I have completed my little summer dress for Annika and started making a little pillowcase dress for her. If I like it I may even upgrade to cool fabric instead of using a pillowcase! LOL! I started Annika's scrapbook and I'm super happy with the start. I just need to rejig my upstairs craft room to be my paper crafting room. Oooh...this is going to be fun...

C) I haven't found a church yet. Been doing some talking with friends to see if any of their churches are maybes. Now that we're way in the west end I'm reluctant to go to a church that's way in the east. Anybody have a suggestion for me out here in the West?

D)  I'm currently reading a non-fiction book that ties in to my new adventure starting next week. I'm going to lose all that extra weight I've been carrying around!! I am planning on blogging about my weight loss journey. Hopefully that helps me blog more regularly, plus I'll document my progress/slip-ups.

E) I just picked up a book from the library today that's all about my camera and its features and how to use it properly! I'm hoping this will set me in the right direction to getting some great shots. I definitely need to take more pictures. I can't believe how quickly my little love it changing.

F)  Family visits...we try as often as we can. I think we see family at least once a week. Is that decent? I hope so!

G) I do not want to go back to school. Yuck. But...I may. Probably not anything that involves too much of a time commitment over the coming years. There's a project management designation that I'm considering...it's pretty quick and is self-study. So if I have to do something, I may as well do that, since I'm interested in it.

So overall, I guess I've made some progress, right? It's a start! Let's hope I can keep it up!

Yay, I finally blogged! I think about it often, but just get tired. Oh, an update...I'm in physio now regularly and my back is feeling sooooooo much better, thank goodness. I hope to never have that problem again. I think the physio is working, so I'll keep it up until I'm feeling 100%.

Hope you all are having a great week....yay for short work weeks! Happy Easter to you all...
Penny

So Proud

This may be too much information to share with y'all, but I'm going to do it anyway! Ha! My little baby girl did her thing on the POTTY today!!! :) We haven't started "potty training" yet, but we have her potty in the bathroom and sometimes she sits on it and she knows that it's for "peepee". Today at lunch we were just finishing up and she said "poop". So I asked her if she wanted to go to her potty and she said "yeth" and so up we went. I stripped off her pants and diaper and she sat down. We just hung out and she was smiling and then all of a sudden I heard the magical little sounds of tinkling...IN THE POTTY!! So I asked her if she was finished and she said no. So we sat for a few more minutes and then I asked again and took a quick peek...and yup, it was a number 2!!!!! WOW!!! My girl is growing up so fast. I couldn't believe it! I'm so proud of the little turkey.

So I apologize for those who may not be impressed by my "potty mouth". Haha! But I couldn't help it! It's a great start. Maybe we'll actually start the potty training now and buy some pullups for during the day. Wow. It's a big day.

I'm feeling pretty useless today. I had a pretty rough night last night. Learnt my lesson the hard way (i lifted something I shouldn't have and I paid for it dearly). Anyways...today I'm taking it  easy and I'm not going to do much in terms of housework or anything. I would like to get some supper on the table for my poor hubby. This is hard on him. He had to pick me up and help me move yesterday (and that's no easy chore, lol). I'm blessed - he's such a good husband. AND...I must give a HUGE shout-out to some wonderful people in my life. My wonderful in-laws, Catherine & John, and my aunt, Audrey, are over at our old place doing the cleaning to get it ready for renting. I should be there doing it...but they're graciously doing it for me...and I appreciate it so much. My dad has been working every week on our place, finishing the painting in the bathroom, putting the finishing touches on, installing flooring, and countless other things. I am blessed with a fantastic father who helps us out all the time. And my lovely friend Heather dropped off a snack for me last night and is always helping us out with watching Annika when we're in a pinch and all sorts of other things. So...thank you my family. Love you all!! :)

Hope everyone out in blogland is having a great Friday...enjoy your weekend!
Penny

Pinched

So I've had some pretty bad back pain over the last week...and different than any pain I've had before. A couple weeks ago I came into the house from the garage holding Annika and just turned and something happened...i felt an intense pain in my lower back. Had to drop everything (well I set annika down nicely) and then was on my back laying down on the floor for a while. After a couple days it sort of went away so I thought it was over. Nope. The pain is back, with a vengeance, and unfortunately it's worsening and making it pretty difficult to work (desk job). I've got a couple doctor appts tomorrow...but the chiropractor is pretty sure it's a pinched nerve. Ow! So I've been a bit of a gimp and i'm pretty sure I look funny walking crooked...but that's the way it goes. Anyways...I've shared my pity party with you...i'm sure you aren't visiting my blog to hear me complain!

On to more interesting things...I'm going to make a pillowcase dress next! I have found a few great tutorials online, and when i'm feeling better (let's hope it's soon) I will be starting that project. Our sewing group met on saturday night and it was a good night! Scott has taken to calling it "The Sweatshop", and has devious plans to make us a lucrative venture for him...either that or he's hoping we'll mend his jeans for him. (He's dreaming! :) Way too many other exciting things to do.)

Hope you're all having a great week! Enjoy that sunshine! I'm off to ice my back.
Penny

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Weekend!

Woo hoo! Weekend has officially arrived and I made it through April Fools unscathed. Yay! Now i'm in my jammies with a blanket...going to have a cup of tea and veg out with my hubby on the couch. We've already gotten a trip to Costco out of the way, Princess auto, done a run to the bottle depot, and washed the vehicle. Not bad.

Tomorrow I need to do some cleaning, organizing, and then it's sewing night! Excellent! I'm craving sangria...may have to test a batch out on the girls tomorrow if I get my act together. Mmmm...that'll make sewing night interesting!

Hope you are all having a fantastic week. Enjoy the beautiful weather!
Penny

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